Google Business Profile for restaurants: how to set up, verify and rank on Google Maps (2026)
By Asaad Al Hashmi, Founder and CEO of Wady
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your restaurant or cafe on Google Search and Google Maps with its name, address, hours, menu, photos and reviews. To set one up, search for your place on Google Maps, claim the listing or create it at business.google.com/add, verify it, fill in every field and ask guests for reviews. This guide is for restaurants and cafes in Qatar, the GCC and the wider region, and it adds the Gulf details Google's pages leave out: Arabic and English names, Ramadan and Eid hours, regional delivery apps, several branches and delivery-only kitchens.
We are Wady. We don't sell Google listing tools; we make purchasing and kitchen software for restaurants in Qatar.
We updated this article on 22 October 2026 and re-checked Google's rules that day on Google Business Profile Help. Check your own profile screen, because Google changes its pages often. This guide is not legal advice.
Key takeaways
A Google Business Profile is free, and you cannot pay Google for a better local ranking.
Use one form of your restaurant's name, the one guests say, and never write "Name / الاسم".
Change your regular hours for Ramadan and back after; use special hours for the Eid days.
Ask every guest for a review the same way, with no pressure, no staff targets and no rewards.
Give each branch its own profile, and hide a delivery-only kitchen's address.
What is a Google Business Profile?
It is Google's free business listing, and it controls how your restaurant looks on Google Search and Google Maps, from its name and hours to its photos and reviews. Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge, and only businesses that make face-to-face contact with customers are eligible. A restaurant or cafe with a place guests visit qualifies; an online-only business does not. Google's guide for restaurants lists a menu editor, photos, offers, updates, events, review replies and performance tracking.
Guests often check a restaurant's hours, photos and reviews on their phone before they choose where to eat.
Why does a Google Business Profile matter for a restaurant in the Gulf?
Your profile is a free page that shows your address, hours, menu and reviews, and you control what it says. In Qatar and across the GCC, guests may search in Arabic or English, hours change in Ramadan and on the Eids, and many groups run several branches or several brands. Delivery apps can also put ordering links on a profile.
How does Google decide which restaurants to show?
Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and you cannot request or pay for a better ranking.
Relevance: how well your profile matches the search. Google says the categories you choose affect your local ranking, and that complete info helps it match you to searches.
Distance: how far the guest is from your address. Check that your map pin sits on your door.
Prominence: how well known you are. Google says it is based on info such as how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have. More reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.
Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and no restaurant can pay for a better local ranking.
How do you claim and verify your restaurant on Google?
Search for your restaurant on Google Maps, then claim the listing, ask its current owner for access, or create a new one at business.google.com/add. Then verify it.
Search for your restaurant on Google Maps, using the name guests use.
If the listing is there and unverified, select Claim this business, then Manage now (Google's steps).
If someone else already verified it, go to business.google.com/add, enter your name and address, pick the listing and select Request access.
If there is no listing, create one at business.google.com/add with your category, address, phone number and hours.
Verify. Google shows the methods it offers you, so use the one it gives you; they are "automatically determined by Google and can't be changed". Options include video, phone or text, email, live video call, postcard and bulk verification. You may need more than one method.
Know the rules of each method. A live video call only happens during your business hours, so have someone on site. For a postcard, most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30; while you wait, do not edit your name, address or category, and do not request a new code.
Wait for the review, which takes up to 5 business days.
How does video verification work?
Record at least 30 seconds, live and unedited, as one continuous recording from a mobile device, through your profile. Pre-recorded videos are not allowed.
Show the location: street signs and nearby businesses, then your business name on a permanent sign that matches your profile.
Show you manage it: the kitchen, a storage room, or the cash register or POS.
Keep private things out: no other people's faces and no bank, tax or ID numbers.
What if someone else already owns the listing?
When you request access, the current owner is emailed and has 3 days to respond. After that you may be able to claim it. Ask a former manager or agency first.
How do you set up and improve a restaurant profile?
Fill every field with facts that match your sign and your kitchen. Start with name, category, address and hours.
This example listing card is made up for this article. It shows which fields a restaurant should fill first, numbered in order.
Business name: pick one form
Google says your name should reflect your real-world name. Taglines, hours, phone numbers, URLs and service descriptions are not allowed and can lead to suspension. The same page does not allow repeating the same name in more than one script or language, even if your sign shows both. Google's own example marks "Kafiex / カフィエクス" as wrong and "Kafiex" as right. Google does not name Arabic there; this is how its general rule applies to an Arabic and English sign. Pick one form of your name, the one guests call you, and enter only that. Never write "Name / الاسم". Our suggestion: use the other language in your description and review replies.
Primary and additional categories
Choose the most specific primary category, because categories affect your local ranking. Google's example is "Nail salon" instead of "Salon", and it uses "Pizza restaurant" as a primary category. Then add a few additional categories for other services you offer; Google says not to add one for every product or service.
Address and map pin
Enter your address in your country's official address format, then check the map pin against your real door and move it if it is off. In Qatar, for example, a blue plate outside each building shows the zone number, street number and building number, so enter your address as the plate shows it. Keep the same address on your website, delivery apps and invoices.
Opening hours, Ramadan and Eid
Set regular hours first. Google's special hours are for when a business temporarily changes its hours or stays closed for up to 6 days in a row, for example on holidays or at special events. Google also suggests confirming your hours for official holidays, even if they don't change. Ramadan lasts about a month, which is longer than special hours cover. Our suggestion: update your regular hours before Ramadan starts and change them back when it ends. Then use special hours for each Eid day and other short holidays, on the dates your country announces. More hours cover services such as delivery, takeout and pickup, and they do not show until you set regular hours.
This made-up example sets Ramadan as regular hours and uses special hours only for the Eid days, with delivery added as more hours.
Menu
Use the menu editor to add sections, items, descriptions and prices. An experimental option can build a menu from a photo or PDF with AI; you agree to extra terms and should review the result before you publish it. Changes can take 24 to 48 hours to show. If Google finds several menus, you can pick a preferred source, and you can flag outdated menu photos from customers and upload your own. Keep prices true to your real menu, and set them from your food cost: see How do I price my menu items based on food cost?.
Attributes
Attributes are the Yes or No details under Edit profile, then More. Set only the true ones; some are available only in certain countries or categories. Edits usually review in about 10 minutes and can take up to 30 days.
Ordering links and delivery apps
Your profile can show links where guests order food. In the Food ordering section you can set a link as Preferred for pickup, for delivery or for both, and Google lists providers that state an authorized relationship with you automatically. Turning off "Accept orders on your profile" hides all ordering links, and providers must remove their links within 5 business days of your request. Delivery apps are the common example. talabat says it operates in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Iraq, and HungerStation serves Saudi Arabia. You can also add your own ordering link that sends guests to the page where they order from you, and set it as preferred. Where the buttons appear varies by country.
This made-up example profile shows your own ordering link set as preferred above delivery app links, plus true attributes, an owner reply to a review and an offer post.
Photos, video and description
Photos must be JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB, with 720 x 720 pixels recommended and 250 x 250 as the minimum. Keep them in focus and well lit, without heavy filters. For a restaurant, add at least three photos of food or drinks, led by popular items, plus three of the exterior and three of the interior. Photos show only after verification. Your description can run up to 750 characters and must not include URLs or HTML. Say what you serve and where you are, in Arabic and English (our suggestion).
Posts
Posts come in three types: updates, offers and events. Posts older than 6 months are archived unless you set a date range. Before you post a discount in Qatar, read Restaurant marketing in Qatar: a practical guide for restaurants and cafes (2026).
How do you get more Google reviews the right way?
Ask guests for a review with your Google review link or a QR code, let them decide, and offer no discount or free dish in return. Google lets you ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code and prohibits incentives such as free or discounted goods or services.
Ask, never pressure: Google's Maps content policy says merchants should not require or pressure guests to leave a rating or review while they are on the premises. Print the QR code on the bill folder or receipt with a thank-you line, and let the guest decide.
No review targets for staff: the same policy says not to ask staff to collect a set number of reviews. Do not rank or reward staff by review count.
Do not ask for specific content: don't ask a guest to mention a dish or to name a staff member. What they write is up to them.
No incentives: no free dessert, discount or draw in exchange for a review.
No filtering: the policy does not allow merchants to "selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". Tools that send only happy guests to Google match that description, so give every guest the same link.
How do you reply to Google reviews?
Reply from your profile after verification: you must verify your business before you can reply. Replies usually appear within 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 days. Thank guests for what they said. For a bad review, apologize for the specific problem, say what you will do and ask the guest to contact the restaurant. Reply in the guest's language.
Reply to reviews as a team habit, in the language each guest wrote in.
How do you report a review?
Report a review only if it breaks Google's content policy; disagreeing with it is not a reason. Reports take several days, and you get a one-time appeal.
How do you manage several branches on Google?
We suggest one profile per branch, each with its own address, map pin, phone number and hours, managed together as a business group. You verify each profile, one at a time or in bulk.
Names: use the same real-world name on each, adding a branch word only if it is on that sign.
Business groups: group managers can add, edit and delete all profiles, but cannot add or remove users.
Bulk verification: with 10 or more profiles for the same business, you can verify them with a spreadsheet.
Menus across branches: this needs Business Profile API access.
Hours: set Ramadan hours as regular hours on each branch and change them back after, and add Eid special hours per branch, because a mall branch and a street branch can close at different times.
How do delivery-only and multi-brand kitchens list on Google?
Google allows virtual food brands under conditions, set out in the "Virtual food brands" section of its guidelines for representing your business.
Brands in one place that offer pickup: each brand needs its own permanent signage. Show the address only if the brand offers pickup to all customers.
Delivery-only brands: allowed if each has distinct branded packaging and a distinct website. Hide the address and add service areas, so guests are not sent to a kitchen they cannot visit.
Several virtual brands at one location: allowed, with extra verification steps.
A brand that authorizes your kitchen: once the authorization is confirmed, the kitchen can manage that brand's profile.
For the kitchen side, read Can multiple brands operate from one central kitchen? A guide for Qatar.
How do you measure what your Google profile brings in?
Open the Performance report on your profile. Data is available only for verified profiles and includes organic results and Google Ads. Only the metrics that apply to your business appear.
Searches: the terms people used to find you. This metric updates at the start of each month.
Directions, website clicks and calls: compare them before and after you fix your pin or hours. Calls show only if your profile has a phone number.
Menu clicks and bookings: Google's restaurant guide names searches, menu clicks and bookings as top metrics. If menu clicks stay low, check that your menu is filled in and up to date.
Check once a month.
How do you fix common Google profile problems?
Most problems are duplicate listings, a suspended profile or lost access.
Duplicates: you can remove a duplicate you created without hurting your verified profile, but removal deletes the duplicate's content and linked managers. To merge, request it through Google Maps; reviews are combined and owner replies may be lost.
Suspension: use the appeals tool and upload evidence where the name and address match your profile, such as business registration, license, tax certificates or utility bills. You get one appeal. Do not create a new profile for the same business.
Owner or manager: a profile can have several owners but only one primary owner. Managers cannot add or remove users or remove the profile. Give staff the manager role, and put the owner role on a company email.
How Wady helps behind your Google listing
Your profile promises a menu, prices and hours, and keeping them depends on what your suppliers deliver and when. Wady works in Qatar today: if your restaurant is in another country, the Google steps above apply to you, but Wady is not available there. Over 100 businesses in Qatar use Wady, including Crave Holdings and OMC. Wady does not manage your Google profile.
What the free Purchase System does
All your suppliers in one app: the free Purchase System shows each supplier's delivery days and cut-off times.
A record of every order: each order keeps its items, quantities and prices.
Every brand and branch in one account: in five languages, free forever, with no contract, on iOS, Android and order.wady.ai. It is for restaurants, cafes, hotels and catering kitchens in Qatar.
Before you announce Ramadan or Eid hours or a new dish, check your suppliers' delivery days and cut-off times in the app.
What Wady Central adds
Wady Central is the paid product for stock, recipes, purchasing and costs, for any size of kitchen in Qatar, from one cafe to a multi-branch group with a central kitchen. In a group, every brand, branch and kitchen sits in one account, outlets order from the central kitchen in the app, and all demand lands on one sheet. Recipe costs update when a delivery comes in at a new price. It works alongside your POS and accounting, with no POS API connection yet, and is in English only today. See pricing for the price.
FAQ about Google Business Profile for restaurants
How do I add my restaurant to Google Maps?
Search for it on Google Maps. If a listing exists, select Claim this business, or request access if someone else verified it. If there is none, create one at business.google.com/add, then verify it. Adding or claiming is free.
How do I verify my restaurant's Google Business Profile?
Use the method Google offers you; you cannot change it. Review takes up to 5 business days. Postcard codes expire after 30 days.
How do I get more Google reviews for my restaurant?
Share your Google review link or QR code with every guest. Ask, never pressure, set no review targets for staff, and offer no rewards.
How do I update my hours and menu on Google for Ramadan and Eid?
Update your regular hours before Ramadan and change them back after. Set special hours for the Eid days and other short holidays, which Google limits to up to 6 days in a row. Menu changes can take 24 to 48 hours to show.
Can a delivery-only kitchen have a Google Business Profile?
Yes, under conditions. Each delivery-only brand needs distinct branded packaging and a distinct website, must hide its address and must add service areas. Several virtual brands at one location face extra verification steps.
Related articles
Keep your promises on time
Get your Google profile right, then plan your supplier orders around it. If you run a restaurant, cafe, hotel or catering kitchen in Qatar, the free Purchase System puts all your suppliers in one app: open it at order.wady.ai, or get it on the App Store or Google Play. To see it on your own suppliers, message us on WhatsApp at +974 7000 7658.
All your orders from your suppliers in one place, free forever.
